


I Wanna Hold Your Hand

by SnailPenguin



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Dressing wounds, First Kiss, Fluff, Holding Hands, M/M, Minor Injuries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-09
Updated: 2019-09-09
Packaged: 2020-10-13 03:18:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,084
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20575580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SnailPenguin/pseuds/SnailPenguin
Summary: Ignatz wasn't sure how long he stared at their interlocked hands before Raphael spoke, the man's voice a whisper softer than Ignatz thought capable. "...Ignatz?"Ignatz eyes shifted to Raphael's face, which no longer held its usual million-dollar smile. It was instead replaced by something Ignatz had never seen from him before. His face looked serious, but not serious like the way he looked in battle. This kind of serious was much more soft, leaving Raphael's lips slightly parted, his cheeks red, and his eyes wide."Yes?" Ignatz answered in a whisper of his own."Can I kiss you?"





	I Wanna Hold Your Hand

**Author's Note:**

> These two deserve the world and I wanna give it to them

Raphael recoiled as Ignatz pressed the warm, wet rag to the cut on his temple, trying to get away from the sting. 

"Hold still, Raphael." Ignatz murmured, bringing his free hand up to Raphael's chin to steady him as he brought the rag back up. He'd taken a good beating during the day's battle. His bottom lip was split and a purple bruise had bloomed on one of his cheeks, but the cut he'd sustained on his forehead was the only thing serious enough to make Ignatz worry.

Raphael hissed through gritted teeth as Ignatz wiped, cleaning away the dried blood around the wound. 

"I'm almost done." Ignatz reassured him. He dropped the rag in the bowl of water and pulled a pot of ointment from his bag, smearing some of the shining cream over the cut before placing a bandage over it. 

"There. I think that'll heal alright…" Ignatz told him, reaching for his bag to put away his supplies. His gaze fell to Raphael's hands, which he'd only just noticed were bruised and bloodied.

"Raphael! Y-your hands!" He gasped, gently taking one of them to get a closer look in the candlelight, "How did they get this bad? What happened?"

Raphael stared at his shoes and murmured guiltily, "My gauntlets broke at some point and I decided to just toss 'em and use my hands."

"And you weren't going to tell me about this? Or go to someone who could heal you?"

Raphael shook his head, "Everyone looked so tired after today, I didn’t want to bother anyone… and I didn't wanna cause you any extra trouble after you insisted on cleaning up the cut on my head."

"You… didn't want…?" Ignatz sighed and shook his head, "Raphael, you never cause any trouble for me. Or anyone else."

"Sorry." Was all Raphael responded with, his eyes never leaving the ground.

"There's no need to be sorry, Raf. Just be more careful in the future.” He scolded, “Keep extra gauntlets with you, so you won’t have to fight  _ bare handed _ . And let me know if something like this happens. You can get an infection if you don't clean cuts like this."

He gently settled one of Raphael's large hands on his knee, taking up the rag again to clean the split and bruised skin of his knuckles. 

"This is going to sting again." Ignatz warned, waiting for Raphael to give him a nod of acknowledgement before bringing the rag to his skin.

He wiped at the skin with soft, slow drags of the rag, staining more of its surface a pinkish red. As Ignatz worked, Raphael sat quietly, looking tired. Ignatz couldn't blame him, he was pretty exhausted himself. That day's fight was especially challenging for the entire Golden Deer house.

Ignatz released Raphael's now-cleaned hand and grabbed his other. He yawned into the back of his own hand before picking up the rag and starting his work again. Raphael studied Ignatz for a moment. His cheeks were still red from a day of heat and physical exertion, and the hair that hung just above his eyes had stuck in now-dried clumps to his forehead from all of the sweat that poured down his face during the day and left tracks in the smudges of dirt on his face. 

"Hey Ig?" 

"Yes?" He responded without looking up.

"How come you're doing all of this for me?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean… you're obviously tired from today's fight. Why are you cleaning me up instead of getting rest like you should?"

Ignatz’s hand paused for only a second before he continued to care for Raphael's wounds, "I can get rest once you’re taken care of." He said, sounding a little colder than he intended.

"Ignatz… Are you upset with me?"

"N-no!" Ignatz said a little too quickly, jerking his head up to look at Raphael. "I'm not upset, I promise." He rambled, "I just… I care about you a lot, Raphael."

"You do?"

"Well of course! You're…" he hesitated, choosing his words carefully. "You're my best friend, Raf."

Raphael smiled for the first time that night, "You're mine, too, Iggy."

Ignatz returned a tired smile for just a moment before dropping his eyes back to Raphael's hand, "And you work so hard out there." He continued as he cleaned, "Not many people face the enemy so close, let alone with their bare fists… You deserve to have someone taking care of you."

When Ignatz glanced up from his work, he found Raphael smiling at him. 

"Why are you looking at me like that?" 

"I was just thinking… if I had to have anyone take care of me, I'm glad it's you." 

Blushing heat filled Ignatz's cheeks, "I'm glad it's me, too." Ignatz's heart picked up speed in his chest.

After Raphael’s statement, Ignatz had a harder time focusing as he carefully applied the ointment to both hands, then worked on wrapping bandages around Raphael's knuckles. "You need to give your hands rest, so I'd definitely say you should lay off of the training for a few days, to make sure your cuts can mend." 

Raphael groaned, "What am I supposed to in the meantime?"

"Some of your schoolwork, perhaps?" Ignatz teased. 

Raphael groaned again, "No training  _ and _ you expect me to do schoolwork? Gosh, you're harsher than the professor."

Ignatz chuckled and rolled his eyes.

Once he'd finished tying the loose ends of the second bandage, his hand hovered just over Raphael's and he laughed.

Raphael cocked a confused eyebrow at him, "What is it?"

"Your hands… they're so much bigger than mine."

Raphael smiled and lifted his hand so his palm was facing Ignatz, who followed suit, bringing his much smaller hand to rest against Raphael's palm. With the heels of their hands matched up, Ignatz's hand was dwarfed by Raphael's, his fingertips not even reaching past the first knuckle of his large companion's fingers.

Raphael laughed, "They really are a lot bigger, huh?" He closed his hand, engulfing Ignatz's own in his. Ignatz stared at their hands. His eyes widened and his heart began to flutter faster in his chest.

After a few seconds, Raphael's hand moved, but not away from Ignatz's like he'd expected. Instead, his fingers unwrapped themselves from around Ignatz's balled fist and slid against Ignatz's palm, wiggling their way up to lace their fingers together. 

Ignatz wasn't sure how long he stared at their interlocked hands before Raphael spoke, the man's voice a whisper softer than Ignatz thought capable. "...Ignatz?"

Ignatz eyes shifted to Raphael's face, which no longer held it's usual million-dollar smile. It was instead replaced by something Ignatz had never seen from him before. His face looked serious, but not serious like the way he looked in battle. This kind of serious was much more soft, leaving Raphael's lips slightly parted, his cheeks red, and his eyes wide. 

"Yes?" Ignatz answered in a whisper of his own.

"Can I kiss you?"

Ignatz's brain couldn't function long enough for him to get the word 'yes' out, so instead he nodded. Raphael leaned forward, bringing his lips to Ignatz's. He let their lips brush together softly, just a ghost of the kiss that Ignatz's had been dying to have for goddess-knows how long. 

Before Raphael could pull back, Ignatz leaned forward, pressing his lips against Raphael's more fervently, sending his glasses askew. Raphael reciprocated, bringing the hand that wasn't still locked around Ignatz's up to the back of his neck, feeling the soft strands of Ignatz's golden hair brush against his fingers. 

Once they parted a few moments later, Ignatz chuckled nervously as he straightened his glasses. 

Raphael smiled crookedly at Ignatz, "Sorry. I'd just been thinking about doing that for a while." 

"Don't be sorry." Ignatz told him, returning the smile, "I'd been thinking about it too."

They stayed close for a few moments, hand in hand, eyes on each other, smiles never fading. 

Ignatz yawned, then laughed, "Sorry. It's been a long day."

Raphael nodded, "I can't help but agree with ya. We should both probably get some rest..." 

Ignatz looked down at their hands and gave Raphael's a gentle squeeze, "We should… but now I don't want to leave."

Raphael leaned forward to plant a kiss on the top of Ignatz's head. "Truth be told," Raphael murmured into his hair, "I don't want you to leave, either. But you really should get cleaned up and sleep after such a long day." He rose from his seat on the edge of his bed, guiding Ignatz to stand with a small tug on his hand. "C'mon, I'll walk you back to your room."

Ignatz stood, slinging his bag over his shoulder and using his unoccupied hand to pack away the medical supplies he'd brought with him. 

He let Raphael lead him into the hall, their hands still clasped together between them as they walked to Ignatz’s room just a few doors down. 

When they reached his room, Ignatz stretched up on his toes, trying to plant a kiss on Raphael’s lips, but fell just short, his lips grazing Raphael’s chin instead. Raphael laughed and leaned down, bringing his lips to Ignatz’s.

Ignatz responded by wrapping an arm around Raphael’s neck and leaning back against the door, bringing them closer to each other. He reveled in the way Raphael's lips curled in a smile against his, and in the gentle feeling of Raphael's free hand snaking around his waist to pull him that much closer. 

The two of them forgot that they were kissing in the middle of the dorm hallway until the _pop_ of a door opening and shutting pulled them back to reality. They quickly scrambled apart, and both looked up to find Sylvain in the adjacent doorway. He said nothing, but glanced down at their hands, which were still clasped together, and gave the two of them a smile and a wink before heading down the hallway.

When he was gone, they turned back to each other. 

"I should probably..." Ignatz murmured, feeling a little awkward that they'd gotten caught in the heat of the moment. 

Raphael, who also looked sheepish, nodded. "I think we both need to hit the hay..." He looked down at their hands, then back up at Ignatz "But I'll see you tomorrow?"

Ignatz nodded, "Definitely. I'll come check on you to replace the bandages and see how things are healing."

Raphael smiled, "Strangely enough, I look forward to it." He leaned forward one last time, giving Ignatz a peck on the lips before whispering, "Goodnight, Ignatz." He straightened up and began to walk away backwards from Ignatz, letting their hands slowly slide apart. Ignatz didn't want to let go, but he was exhausted, and he knew Raphael was likely even more so. 

"Goodnight, Raphael." He replied. Their fingertips drifted apart and his hand fell to his side. Raphael gave him one more warm smile before turning and heading a few doors down back to his room. Ignatz waited, giving Raphael a small wave when he reached his door and looked back towards Ignatz. He returned the wave before ducking into his room, and Ignatz drifted into his own. He shut the door behind him and plopped down on his bed, clutching the hand that had embraced Raphael's just moments ago close to his heart. 

He sat like that for a few moments until he felt a wave of sleepiness roll over him. He had to fight the urge to curl up under the covers in that moment and let dreams take him, instead getting up to wash away the dirt and grime that covered him. He washed his face in a basin and took a rag to his skin to wipe away any traces of the day's fight. 

When he was sufficiently cleaned, he pulled on his most comfortable pajamas, blew out the candle that lit the room, and set his glasses on the table next to his bed.

He climbed under the covers, grabbing a spare pillow and hugging it to his chest. His stomach was filled with the fluttering of butterflies wings as he played back his kisses with Raphael in his mind. He was still in disbelief. Ignatz had dreamt of something like this for years... And finally, it happened.

As Ignatz drifted off into sleep, he thought that if he could paint a picture of the warmth and happiness he felt, it would be the most beautiful piece of art he could ever create. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!!!  
I am working on a part 2 that will take part post-time skip! That one is already gearing up to be a good bit longer than this one, and I'm REALLY excited about it.


End file.
